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GoPro Q4 revenue plunges 38% on soft holiday sales

SAN MATEO, Calif. (BRAIN) — GoPro Inc. on Thursday reported a 38 percent drop in revenue to $334.8 million and a loss of $55.8 million for the fourth quarter following another weak holiday sales period for the action camera maker. Both results fell well short of Wall Street expectations.

The Q4 financials compound woes at GoPro, which announced in January that it was exiting the drone business and cutting 250 jobs due to recall issues with its Karma drone. GoPro also stated last month that it had hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. to investigate finding a buyer for the company.

At the opening of the market Thursday, GoPro shares were down almost 50 percent over the past 52-week period, and the earnings announcement sent the stock further downward in after-hours trading.

While acknowledging the quarter was a challenging one, GoPro founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman said during an earnings call Thursday that the company gleaned several important lessons during the period, especially when it comes to pricing GoPro products.

For example, to address soft demand for its Hero5 Black and Hero5 Session cameras following the launch of the Hero6 Black camera, in December GoPro cut the price on the Hero5 models by $100. As a result, Woodman said, unit sales of Hero5 in the U.S. and Europe more than doubled in December, and Hero5 Session unit sales roughly tripled.

GoPro took additional action on pricing Jan. 7 by reducing the price on Hero6 Black by $100. “Again, we saw an immediate dramatic lift in sell-through,” Woodman said. “… There is clearly significant demand for GoPro at the right price.”

Launching products that broaden GoPro’s appeal at all price points, with emphasis on new, entry-level customers.

Expanding the value proposition of GoPro’s subscription services.

Speaking to subscription services, GoPro this week launched an updated version of its Plus service, which now includes a no-questions-asked replacement policy for broken cameras and 20 percent off GoPro accessories for $4.99 a month.